Electron-discharge device



Patented Jan. 13, 1931 anrs'ro'jrn mvnoenms, or mrnwauxna wrsc onsmnrncrnorv-nrscnanan Davies Application filed mm ame,steam. has).

This invention relates to electron dischargedevices,-and is particularlydirected to an electron discharge device in which all of the parts maybe energized from commercial alternating current mains.

. Further objects areto provide'a'device of this nature which may beused in radio work as a detector or amplifier 'without thenecessity ofusing either filament or plateabat 1o .teries, and in which all hum ordisturbance iseliminated. :j This invention deals with the general typeof electron discharged'evice', such as disclosed inmy Patent No. 1,570,144,' of January 19, 1926, for wireless apparatus, and as disclosed inmy Patent No. 1,638,499., August 9,

1927, for electron discharge devices; and'my copending application No78,877, filedjJanuary 2, 1926, forwireless receivingappara tus; and inmy Patents, No. 1,616,914 of Feb 8, 1927 ,and No; 1,629 171,- of-Mayf17,

ruary 1927, for electron discharge evices. F

In general, this invention has for its object the provision of anovellform' bfelectronf discharge devicein whicha rectifier, a voltagelimiting or control device, and an audion are employed in thesalnevessel preferably, I v

-w1th the pressuresuch as to malntal n a gase- I,

however, withthe three-essential elements 'di vided out orseparated-from each other by the conditions of gas pressure or vacuumobtaining in the several chambers, and-also the I character of theatmosphere or ;;gas"therein f arrangement 0' electrodes'and gaseousatmosphere', the cathode 8*and, the anodeY985 1 of this"apparatus=-'constituting 'a' voltage Further objects BJ'Gt-Q provide-fa. unitary electron discharge devicein which the recmay be maintaineddistinct and separate'to 85 ments.

tifier and voltage limiting apparatus are are not so liable to break inhandling orshipping, or to burn out in use, asthe pure elec-' tronemission apparatus consisting of a heated filament and associated parts.

to Figure 1, but showing vessel 1 which is providedwith-three distinctand separate compartments or chambers 2,3,

the glass or other walls of the vessel, so that M v v p able metal withjtlie cathode, however, prefer-- ably formed of a metal of the alkaligroup.

secure the best working of the 'several ele -i more robust andmechanically stronger, and" Further objects are toprovidean electro r14discharge device which may be very cheaply I Embodiments oftheinvention'a're shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 isfia' diagrammatic view ofone formoftheinventiomf Figure 2*isa diagrammatic view showinga furtherform of the invention correspondingc an apparatus adapt ed for full rectification." 1

Referringto Figure-1, it"will be seen that theapparatus comprises aglass or similar and 4:,and also which is provided with a'neck portion5, the neck"portion beingypreferably open'to the air and providing astorage'space for the condensers and resistanceshereinafter mentioned.Each of the compartmentsf2, 3, v

and 4, is, as stated, distinct and separate and is completely walledofl' from the rest of the T apparatus by the glass'walls of thevessehas Vindicated diagrammatically. in the drawings.

employed'in which a relatively sm'all cylindrical anode 6 is located'centrall withi'na relatively lar e tubular or cylin rical electrode 7.Pre erably,th ccompartn'ient2 con tains a rarefiedatmosphereqof ages ofthe heliunrgroup or elsea" mixture of such gases ous discharge betweenthe electrodesfi and 1'. The electrodes may be made of any shit-Q Thenext com artment 3 contains a similar] 7 I Iimiting device or'in effecta'bypas sing' d'e v vicefas will ap ar hereinafter as thedescriptionprocee s. "The anode 9 of the-last described device is "connected tothecathode o 8 of the rectifier bymeans of a resist ance iIO f The nextcompartment 4 contains inn dionwhich consists offa plate a 'gr id 12, anequipotential cathode 13,and:'a filament v Four prongs extend'out of theapparatus, as indicated at 15,16,17, and 18. -Preferably, these prongsex'tend-out-of theb'ase" of the apparatus, although for convenience ofillustration they-have-been otherwise 70 YWithinthe compartment'2 .a'rectifier is f shown in Figure 1. It is to be understood,

however, that they may extend out of any I portion of the apparatus.

the city mains 22. The cathode of the re'cti fier is connected to oneend of the resistance 10, and to one side of the storage condenser 19.The otherside of the storage condenser is connected to the prong '16.-Further,'it is" to be noted that the two-ends of the filament V areconnected to theanode 6 and the prong 16 and to the prong 16 and theotherside of the storage condenser 19. The cathode 8 of the byp'assingor voltage limiting apparatus is connected to the prong 16 andconsequently to one side of the condenser 19. The anode 9 'of suchapparatus is, as stated, connected to one end of the resistance, 10. Itis also. connectedv to the anode or plate .11 of the.

audion and toone side of [the bypass 'condenser. 20. v The otherside ofthe condenser.

20 is'connectedto. the prong 1 6. The condenser 20 is shunted by meansof the resist:

ance 21, such resistance preferably having a relatively high value.

Itis to be. noted that the audioncathode 13 i'siconnejctedl to the prong18 and from thence ,to the rimary23 of a transformer or other transatingfir output device, the

- other side of this prlmary 'being connected to a the prong 16. "Ineffect, therefore, itis ap- 'parent'that th co d nser 20 and resistance21 bridges the audion and forms a bypass around the audion. Further,itwill be noted that the cathode-'13 is connectedtmone side of the inputapparatus or secondary 24 of a transformer, the other side'of suchtrans-- former being connected through the prong 17tothegrid12. 1 Theprong 16 is connected to the other main 25 througha variableresistance26so thatithe voltage supplied the apparatus as well. as thefilament nay be simultaneously controlled.v The several compartments2,3, andA have their gaseouscontentsso constituted and of such rarefication as required for the several devices. .7 Thel compartments 2 and3 have beenpreviously described and it is to be noted that thecompartment; which contains the audion may havev an extremelf lowpressure so that a pure;1.electron.em1ssion is secured from the "heatedcathode 13 or else thisapparatus-m'ay constitute in effect a gas tube ofthe well known type.

The materialsof the electrodes 8 and 9 of the apparatus inithecompartment 3 andthe gases and pressure .therein are sochosen that thedevice has a voltage-current characteristic which has a substantialportion thereof the audion and the lau a function in its usual capacity,.'The con denser 20, and resistance 21 furnishes-a bypass.

p the apparatus.

parallel to the current axis, whereby a relatively great change incurrent flow may occur throu 'h the apparatus without appreciablyaltering the voltage between its terminals. Consequently, when therectifier supplies pulsating unidirectional current and chargesthestorage condenser 19, such condenser discharges through theresistance 10 across which a voltage drop occurs. However, the apparatusin the vessel 3 constitutes in effect means for securing a constantdifference 'of potential between the end of the resistance 10 which isconnected to the anode 9 and the prong 16 as it bypasses any excesscurrent? In other words, a constant difference of potential ismaintained between the audion anode 11 and the prong 16 which isconnected through the output primary 23 to the cathode 13 of theaudijonl.

voltage limiting device and the associated .parts, attention is, calledtothe (fact that To further explain the operation the i thestorage'condenser 19 furnishes pulsating unidirectional current throu hthe resistance 10 to thevoltage limiting evice, such con-i I denserhaving its other side connected'tothe prong 16. The voltage limitingdevice is soConstructed that itrhasa portionof its voltage-currentcharacteristic 1 substantially parallel to the current axis so thatafter a predetermined point is-reached, any further increase in voltageproducesalarge current fiow through the l voltage limiting device.

The voltage limiting device is bypassed or shunted across the resistance21 and ,consequently' it furnishesa lparallel path'to the resistance21.' AnyQincrease in voltage across the condenser'merely produces afn;in--- creased current flow through the voltage llmitlng device whichbypasses this increase in current and thus does not allow current toincrease; through the resistance 21. Thus,

at the critical voltage, the ionization starts in the voltage limitingdeviceand thus short circuits the excess current and maintains aconstant current throughthe "resistance 21. The potential ditferencebetween theends of the-resistance 21 ristherefore constant; One

end of the resistance is connected to the anode 11 ofthe audionand theotherfe'nd of the. resistance is connected through the prong 16 and theprimary. 23of the output circuit to the cathode 13'of the audion. Thus asub:

stantially constant voltage is impressed around the audion to takecareof any varia-.

tions' that may occur due to variations in'the' signals received-by. theaudion" and conse-v quently variationsin the demand made upon Theapparatusillustrated Figure substantially the same as that described in.

"Figure '1, except that full rectification is.pro-' vided. The threecompartments 2, 3, and 4 are arranged as previously described.HOW6V61,"tWO anodes 6' are provided which cooperate with the cathode .7of the rectifier. Further, the ends of the filament 14 are connected tothese two anodes and such anodes are connected to the prongs 27 and 28,such prongs being in turn connected to the city mains 22 and 25 througha variable resistance 26. The anode'sB of the rectifier are bridged by'arelatively high resistance 29 and the center int of this resistance isconnected to a fifth pron connected to one en of the secon ary 23 of theoutput transformer. Further, the bypam resistance 21 and bypasscondenser 20 and storage condenser 19 each have oneend connected to thisprong 30 and to the neutral or center point of the resistance 29.Otherwise the connections are the same as those reviously described. v

In this form of the invention, it is a parent that the storage condensermay be re atively smaller than that previously described as fullrectification is secured and consequentl the condenser is charged twiceduring eac cycle.

It will be seen that this invention discloses a. novel form of electrondischarge device in which three distinct compartments may be employedfor the three main elements of the device and in which the. selection ofgas and pressure for each compartment may be individually made.

Further, it is to be noted that in the two forms of the invention shownin Figures 1 and 2, a constant voltage apparatus is employed formaintaining constant voltage at the audion plate.

It will be seen further that the apparatus is very sturdy and is notliable to burning out, particularly with regard to the rectifier andvoltage limiting device. Further, these devices are relatively simpleand consequently the apparatus may be very cheaply constructe It will beseen that an ionic rectifier has been provided which is very sturdy inconstruction and not sub'ect to burning out. It is to be understood t atby the termionic rectifier is meant any type of rectifier in which theprincipal agents carrying the current between the electrodes are ionseither produced by collision or'else already in existence in the gaseousatmosphere of the compartment.

Further, it is to be noted that the invention is not to'be limited toany particular type of volta e limitin device as regards the controllinge ements, t e nature of pressure of the as, or other features of this tye.

Furt er, it is to be noted that t e term. audion is intended to covereither a detector, anamplifier, a pure electron emission device forradio reception, or a gas or vapor tube.

30, such pron being Although the invention has been. described inconsiderable detail, such description is intended as'illustrative.rather than limiting as the invention may be variously embodied and asthe scopeof such invention'is to be de-.

termined as claimed.

I claim 1. A unitary electron discharge device includin an hermeticallysealedlvessel having three istinct'chambers, an audion having a plate,an equipotential cathode, a controlling element interposed between saidcathode and a plate, and a heater for heatingnslaid cathode,

' one of said said audion being mounted wit chambers, an ionicrectifierhaving a plate and a cathode for supplying current to the plateof said audion and mounted within one 7 of said chambers, said lastmentioned chamher having an inert gas therein, a voltage limitin devicefor controllin the voltage supplie. the plateof said an ion and having acold cathode and an anode and mounted within the remaining chamber ofsaid vessel, said last mentioned chamber having an inert gas therein, aconductor located within said vessel and connecting one end of saidheater with the anode of said rectifier, aresistance cooperating withsaid voltage limiting device and interposed between said rectifier andsaid voltage limiting device, a storage condenser. co-

operating with saidrectifier and havingone terminal connected to thecathode of said rect1fier and havmg the other terminal connected to thecathode of said voltage limiting 'device and to the other terminal ofsaidheaten.

2. A unitary electron discharge device including an hermetically sealedvessel having three distinct chambers, a full waveionic rect ifierprovided with a pair ofanodes, and a cathode enclosed within'one of saidchambers, a voltage limiting device provided with an anode and a cathodeenclosed within a second chamber, a rare inert gas in'said first andsec- 4 0nd chambers, the anode of the voltage limita ing device beingconnected to the cathode of sa d rectlfier, an audion enclosed withinthe third chamber of said vessel and having an anode, anequipotentialcathode, an interposed grid, and a heater for said cathode, the plate ofsaid audion bein connected to the. anode of sa1d voltage l1m1tingdevice, a resistance bridged around the ends of said heater, a con-' andan audion, said rectifier having'a cathode and a pair of anodes saidvoltage limitmg device having a cathode and an anode connected to thecathode of said rectifier,

said audion having a heater, a cathode, a controlling element, and aplate connected to the anode of said voltage limiting device, aresistance inserted in the circuit of said voltage limiting device andcooperating therewith, a second resistance bridged around the terminalsof said heater and the anodes of said rectifier, a storage condenserconnected between the cathode of said rectifier and the neutral point ofsaid last mentioned resist-" ance, a third resistance and a secondcondenser bridged around said audion, said unitary device having fiveprongsytwo of the prongs being connected to the terminals of the heaterand the anodes of the rectifier, a

third and fourth prong connected respectively to the cathode and thecontrolling element of. saidaudion, whereby thecontrolling element andcathode of said audion may be connected to an inputcircuit, and thecathode of the audion connected through an out ut circuit to the saidneutral point, and a fthprong connected to one terminal of each of saidcondensers and to a terminal of said third resistance. r

4. A unitary electron discharge device including an hermetically sealedvessel, an

audion, a rectifier and a control device en- 7 closed within suchvessel,'a condenser cooper ating with said rectifier and said control device, a second condenser bridged around said audion, said condensersbeing associated with said vessel as a unitary'structure, and saidvessel carrying conductors connecting said rectifier, control device andthe plate of the audion, whereby the plate is supplied from saidrectifier, said audion having a cathode and a heater therefor and acontrolling elehave hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee, in

the county of Milwaukee and State of- Wisconsm. I

ARISTOTE MAVROGENIS.

ment, connections leading from said heater,

terminal connections extending from said device and adapted forconnection to supply mains and input and output circuits, saidconnections being such that the voltage difference between the terminalsof said heater is at least equal to the voltage difi'erencelwtween theplate and the cathode of said audion.

5. A unitary electron dlscharge device 1neluding a vessel, an audionhaving an anode and a cathode and an interposed grid, a rec-.

tifier for supplying current to said audion, i

both said rectifier and said audion being enclosed within said vessel,means for maintaining a constant potential difference be tween thecathode and anode of said audion, said means including a voltagelimiting device bridged around said audion and enclosed within saidvessel, said voltage limiting device having a pair of electrodes, one ofsaid electrodes being connected to said rectifier and to said audionanode.

.6. A unitary electron discharge device comprising an hermeticallysealed vessel, a rectifier having an anode and a cathode, smoothingmeans including a storage condenser supplied from said rectifier, avoltage

